Swimming suit



B. DE MATTIA SWIMMING SUIT 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 21. ,1923

ATTORNEYS Sept. 9 1924.

B. DE MATTIA SWIMMING SUIT Filed June 2 1923 2 shoetswsheet 2 IN VEN TOR WITNESSES .BAZZTHOLDDEMHTTIA A TTORNEYS Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

UNlTgED S imam Fries.

SWIMMING SUIT.

Application filed June 21, 1923. Serial No. 646,892.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BARTHOLD DE MATTIA, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Clifton, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Swimming Suits, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The present invention relates to swimming suits, and more particularly to a pneumatic or inflated, buoyant support for the body, so arranged that it may be quickly dofled or donned, and when worn will effectively support the body in the water in the position assumed in swimming.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, buoyant device which may be quickly and firmly secured to the upper part of the body, and to provide means also whereby it may be'quickly inflated or deflated, and to permit the volume of air in the main support of the device to be varied while the wearer is in the water, whereby the buoyancy may be adjusted to properly sup-port the body according to the wishes of the wearer.

The present invention may be said to consist of a swimming suit comprising inflatable chambers having an intermediate head-opening, with means to detachably secure the same to the body. It further consists of the devices and combinations of devices which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows the swimming suit in use;

Figure 2 shows a human figure wearing the swimming suit and illustrating the front view- Figure 3 shows a back view of the figure with the suit attached;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the suit removed;

Figure 5 is a sectionalview taken on the line 5-5 in Figure 4;, looking in the direction of the arrows in that figure; and

Figure 6 illustrates means for varying the air pressure of the supporting chamber while the suit is on the body.

Similar characters of reference will be employed throughout the specification and drawings, to designate corresponding parts.

The device comprises a body portion 1 of any suitable flexible material such as rubberized cloth, and as shown, it'is in outline substantially rectangular. At or near one end it is provided with a head-opening 2 in front of which is a pneumatic chamber 3 provided with a suitable .valve 4 whereby the chamber 3 may be inflated or deflated. The chamber 3 is in outline some, what in the form of a crescent with the concaved edge 5 arranged coincident with .the edge of the opening 2, with the points-6 of the crescent extending about the said openingas clearly shown in Figure 4. Below the opening as the article is shown in Figure 4 there is a relatively large inflatable chamber 7, which as shown, is considerably longer than it is wide, and it is preferably narrower at the point 8. than at the opposite ends, somewhat in the shape which may be generally described as hour-glass shape. It is provided with a suitable valve 9 whereby it may be inflated or deflated as desired. Along the marginal edges of the body portion 1 and adjacent to the inflatable chamher 7 are projecting ears 10 provided with grommets or eyelets 11 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. At the forward end, adjacent to the chamber 3 are projecting tabs 12 extending obliquely therefrom, to which are connected flexible tapes 13. At the lower end, and upon opposite sides of the; chamber 7 are diverging tabs 14 to which are connected flexible straps 15 carrying buckles 16, and at the extreme lower end and centrally disposed, is a tab 17 to which are connected straps 18 arranged to be engaged with the buckles 16.

In use, the device is applied to the body bypassing the opening 2 over the head of the wearer. This bringsthe inflatable chamber 3 at the front of the body immediately below the neck, the fabric adjacent the opening forming shoulder straps 19. lVhen thus applied the chamber 7 rests upon the back of the wearer. The device is secured in position by lacing the tapes 13 through the grommets 0r eyelets 11 and tying them at the front of the body as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and by passing the straps 18 forwardly between the legs and connecting them to the straps 15, the lower end of the chamber 7 is firmly connected about the thighs. The lacing of the tapes 13 through the grommets not only holds the chamber 3 firmly in position but prevents the central portion of the chamber 7 from becoming disarranged while in use.

It may be desired to change the volume of Cal air in the chambers 3 and 7, and for this purpose a flexible tube 20 may be connected to the nipples 21 of the inflatable valves and the tube 20 be provided with any suitable means, as for example, the clamp whereby the tube may be opened or closed to admit and release the air and to confine the air as required. In use with the apparatus applied as shown, the forward, buoyant chamber 3 is 'suflicient to support the neck and head or shoulders abo'ye the water as indicated in Figure 1, whereas the buoyant chamber 7 forms an effective support for the trunk vporthj'n of the body. This leaves the arms and le'g's of the wearer entirely free and uaresuai'neu; and as the body is supported in the p'reper position for swimmin ,th wearer', by moving the arms and legs quickly acquires the art or swimming It is of course understood that by varying the amount of air in the chamber '7 the angular ,positon of the body and its submersion with relation to the water level may be regulated to suit individual requirement.

I claim:

1. A swimming suit comprising a pair of structures carrying buoyant means, said structures being flexibly joined to provide a head opening therebetween and including auxiliary flexible element's whereby the suit may be secured to person to dispose one structure in front of and the other structure over the back of the body; said structures being so shaped and arranged that the buoyant means of the first mentioned structure is oi? such shape and size as to be limited to a position between the chin and a point below the chin such as to localize, above the merging line of breast and abdome'n the point of buoyant suspension of the person when the body of the latter responds to an upward pull exerted by the buoyancy of the second mentioned structure.

2. A swimming suit comprisii'rg a pair of structures Carrying buoyant means, said structures being flexibly joined to provide a head opening therebetween and including auxiliary flexible elements whereby the suit may be secured to a person to dispose one structure in front of and the other structure over the back of the body; said structures being so shaped and arranged that the buoyant means of the first mentioned structure is of such shape and size as to be limited to a position between the chin and a point below the chin such as to localize, above the merging line of breast and abdomen, the point of buoyant suspension of the person when the body of the latter responds "to an upward pull exerted by the buoyancy of the second mentioned structure. said second inentioned structure having its buoy nt means extending from point substan ially opposite the point last mentioned to a point at least as far removed from theshoulders of the person as the small 01 his back.

3. A swimming suit comprising a pair of structures carrying buoyant means said structures being flexibly joined to provide a head opening therebetween and including auxiliary flexible elements whereby the suit may be secured to a person to dispose one structure in front of and the other structure over the back of he body; said structures being so shaped and arranged that the buoyant means the first mentioned structure is of such shape and size as to be limited to a position between the chin and a point below the chin such as to localize, above the merging line of breast and ab domen, the point of buoyant suspension of the person when. the body of the latter responds to an upward pull exerted by the buoyancy oi the second mentioned structure said second mentioned structure having its buoyant means extending from, a point substantially opposite the point last mentioned to a point well below the hip joints of the wearer.

BARTHOLD DE lVIAlTlA. 

